Oregon women 82, Denver 71: Johnson's double-double powers Ducks

EUGENE -- Amanda Johnson came up big and Oregon downed Denver 82-71 on Friday night at Mac Court in front of 1,561.

Johnson, a junior forward, recorded her fifth double-double of the season and the 17th of her career, scoring a game-high 24 points and leading the Ducks with 12 rebounds.

The Santa Rosa, Calif., native leads the Pac-10 with five 20-point games and five double-doubles, and also set career highs with a 10 of 12 performance from the free-throw line.

Oregon improved to 7-2, while the Pioneers, who came in with a four-game winning streak, fell to 7-5.

Johnson was one of four Ducks in double figures. Junior point guard Nia Jackson and junior forward Jasmin Holliday each scored 13 points, while Kristi Fallin added 11 points and a career-high seven rebounds off the bench.

After a dismal performance at the free-throw line in Tuesday’s loss to UC Riverside, the Ducks turned it around on Friday night, shooting 22 of 28 (79 percent) from the line, a season best.

Oregon built a 19-point lead at 17:01 of the second half, but Denver slowly chipped away and used a 10-2 run over a near four-minute stretch to cut its deficit to 76-71 with 1:32 to play.

But Oregon responded by shooting 6 of 8 from the line the rest of the way.

The Ducks’ bench outscored Denver’s reserves 23-9, and UO is 6-1 when its bench outscores the opponent.

The Pioneers shot 35.5 percent from the floor and outrebounded UO, 49-39.

Sophomore point guard Laura Stanulis set career highs and led the Ducks with a game-high-tying four assists and a game-high five steals while finding her way to a career-high-tying five rebounds.

Oregon senior Ellyce Ironmonger saw her first action of the season after rehabbing from offseason right ankle surgery. The native of Australia scored five points -- including a three-pointer -- in three minutes of action.

The Ducks began the second half with a 10-0 spurt in 2:59 to extend their lead to 57-38. Oregon went into halftime ahead 47-38, led by 14 points from Johnson and eight points off the bench from Fallin.

The Ducks scored 17 points off Denver’s 17 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.

Oregon next plays at Saint Mary's on Sunday afternoon in Moraga, Calif., then travels to Santa Clara on Tuesday night.